Supply Chain & Merchandising

London -- British grocery giant Tesco is seeking to improve the customer checkout experience by piloting a new, high-speed retail checkout solution from NCR Corp. at its Tesco Extra 24-hour store in Lincoln, U.K. The solution uses innovative imaging technology from Datalogic that automatically finds the barcode on any side of the product without the need to orient the item on the conveyor belt. It is capable of scanning up to 60 items per minute, greatly speeding the transaction.

While other retailers saw sales affected by a winter that overstayed its welcome, Dillard’s marked its 15th consecutive quarter of positive sales.

Despite weak sales in home and furniture, Dillard’s said sales trends in the first quarter were strongest in the men’s apparel and accessories category and the juniors’ and children’s apparel category followed by ladies’ accessories and lingerie.

Orlando, Fla. -- Darden Restaurants on Friday said it has reached an agreement to sell its struggling Red Lobster chain to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 billion.

"Red Lobster is exactly the type of company in which we seek to invest given its great brand profile and strong management team,” said Josh Olshansky, managing director at Golden Gate Capital. “We see significant opportunities for future growth by partnering with Kim Lopdrup and the management team to support the long-term success of Red Lobster."

Same store sales and operating profits declined at Sam’s Club during the first quarter prompting president and CEO Rosalind Brewer to call the reporting period, “one of our more difficult quarters.”

Chicago - Easy2Find is a new online analytics tool designed to simplify food industry research and intelligence at the unit level. It is a joint service offering that joins foodservice data analytics provider CHD Expert and research and consulting firm Technomic.

Easy2Find lets chains see and understand a restaurant's footprint in any given geographic market and restaurant segment. It is designed to allow users to find where competitors are opening new unit locations and how they impact sales, helping to uncover market expansion potential.

New York -- Costco Wholesale Corp. has opened its first store in continental Europe, a 140,000-sq.-ft. location in Seville, Spain.

Costco will follow it up with a store in Madrid, according to media reports.

Blyth — a direct-to-consumer company and leading designer and marketer of candles and accessories for the home, as well as health, wellness and beauty products sold through the direct selling and direct marketing channels — has promoted Jane Casey to the role of CFO.

The company this week announced that VP, CFO Robert H. Barghaus plans to retire later this year after 13 years. Barghaus will remain active as the company's CFO until Casey, an 18-year veteran with the company, assumes the role.

Seattle -- Nordstrom Inc.’s net income for the first quarter fell 3% to $140 million from $145 million in the year ago period, reflecting heavy investments in technology to support omnichannel initiatives and the retailer’s debut in Canada. Its earnings still topped Street views. The company plans to open three full-line stores and 17 Nordstrom Rack stores during the remainder of fiscal 2014